STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Like the rest of the city, Staten Island has seen historic crime drops this year, with a lower murder rate than any year in recent memory, but one troubling number stands out - a more than 16 percent spike in robberies.

As of Dec. 8, the borough has seen 476 robberies, which is up from 409 year-to-date last year.

Those numbers run counter to a 5 percent city-wide decrease in robberies, and the increase appears to come entirely from the borough's newest police precinct, the 121st, which covers several neighborhoods in the northwest part of the Staten Island, including Mariners Harbor, Port Richmond and New Springville.

The borough's remaining three precincts have all registered decreases.

Officials say the increase stems from recent after-school problems and trouble at the borough's bus stops. The NYPD's digital "crime map" shows the largest clusters of robberies on the streets closest to Port Richmond High School and at the base of Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville, and a smaller but still significant cluster near Curtis High School.

The after-school mayhem also spurred North Shore City Councilwoman Debi Rose to call for more police on the streets and for the installation of cameras at the St. George bus stop and "other key locations throughout Staten Island."

In a September statement, Ms. Rose said, "Incidents of this nature are becoming far too frequent. This is why I have been an advocate for expanded after-school programs that include the development of stronger peer-to-peer intervention groups and anti-violence workshops."

The borough's district attorney, Daniel Donovan, said: "We had a record low number of homicides on Staten Island this year and that is thanks to the hard work of the men and women who serve in the NYPD under the great leadership of Commissioner Ray Kelly."

That's the quietest year for homicides on the borough since 2004, which saw eight killings and the lowest number in the police's recorded statistics, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.

In all of the borough's six slayings, the killer knew the victim, though one victim had met her alleged murderer the night of the crime. Two were shootings, two stabbings, one a strangulation, and one the end result of a single punch, according to the authorities. Two were the result of domestic violence.

Staten Island was also shaping up to have fewer shootings than last year, but a recent spate in gun violence over the past five week dashed those hopes. As of Dec. 8, the borough has seen 39 shooting incidents, the same number as last year.

Police were bracing for a wave of violence over the summer, after Jatiek Smith, 29, a reputed leader of the Bloods-affiliated Tombstone Gangstas, was shot in the leg and cheek. That retaliation never materialized, though, and despite a few June shootings, the summer remained relatively calm.

Meanwhile, the Island has seen a 15.3 percent decrease in rapes, a 8.1 percent decrease in felony assaults, a 9 percent decrease in burglaries and a 30.7 percent decrease in car thefts this year. Grand larcenies increased by 9.8 percent.